WWE Power Rankings: The Top 25 Mic Workers in Wrestling History

Throughout the years of the WWE, superstars have come and gone, some have faded into the darkness and been forgotten, while others have made their mark in wrestling history.

Allot of things make up a wrestler, their gimmick, their wrestling skills, their ability to connect with the fans, and finally probably the next most important thing to have next to wrestling skills, is mic skills.

A wrestler needs mic skills if he really wants to get over with the fans, a good example of this would be Kaval. He was a outstanding wrestler in the ring and could have a great match with anybody. But he lacked mic skills, and because of that he suffered and was eventually let go from the WWE.

Then you have someone like The Miz who's wrestling skills are sub par at best but what he lacks in wrestling skills he makes up for in mic skills. The Miz is dominant on the mic and is able to generate allot of heat and its because of that he is WWE Champion.

Mic skills are just as if not more important than wrestling skills, and in this article I will present to you the 25 greatest mic workers in wrestling history. I will tell you right now that this list will probably be controversial, you most likely wont agree with some superstars that I do or don't put on here, or where they are ranked in the list.

If that's the case after your done reading you can leave a comment and tell me your list for the 25 greatest mic workers in wrestling history, until then though enjoy!

25. The Honkey Tonk Man

I think the Honky Tonk Man is underrated when it comes to mic skills, with Jimmy Hart in his corner The Honky Tonk Man was always comfortable on the mic and it showed.

He had as you can tell an Elvis gimmick but he took it to a different level, a more cocky I'm better than you type gimmick. The Honky Tonk man was a great mic worker he sang (not very well), he danced, he even played the guitar, he did it all.

Perhaps the greatest IC Champion of all time holding the belt for a record 62 weeks Honky Tonk Man is a legend in the business, and is also who Jeff Jarrett took his whole guitar smashing gimmick from.

Just look up any promo or interview with The Honky Tonk Man and you'll see that without a mic The Honky Tonk Man just wouldn't be the same.

24. Jake "The Snake" Roberts

The Snake man comes in at number twenty four on my list, having played the gimmick of both a devilish man as a heel, and later in his career as more of a christian gimmick. Which is how he lives his life outside of wrestling.

Jake The Snake spoke softly, but he carried a BIG SNAKE! Damien was apart of Jake Roberts along with Lucifer )and after many of his matches would always take Damien out of his sack and drape him over his opponent's after he had won the match.

Jake Roberts had some memorable feuds with The Undertaker, becoming victim number two at WrestleMania. He helped carry that feud along and really seemed to be the only person that could ever come close to getting inside the deadman's head besides Kane.

Roberts also put over another guy who you will see on this list a little later, maybe you've heard of him, he goes by the name of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jake Roberts was always dominant on the mic and helped you really get into the feuds he was in.

23. Scott Steiner

"Big Poppa Pump is in the house holler if ya hear me!" one of the more infamous lines from this great mic worker Scott Steiner.

Whether he be called Big Poppa Pump, Big Bad Booty Daddy, The Genetic Freak, or The man with the largest arms in the world, all he cares about are his freaks and his peaks!

I don't know if there is a superstar with more catch phrases than this man right here, and I'm sure he would have even more if you asked him. Scott Steiner may have had a controversial career of sorts but it just adds to his character.

This is a guy who makes you believe that what he says he actually means, and there are sometimes he does, this is not a guy who is afraid to speak his mind.

However he didn't really break out until his very first heel turn in WCW by turning on his long time tag team partner and real life/on screen brother Rick, and joining up with the newly formed nWo. Up until then he was just Scotty Steiner, brother of Rick Steiner, and part of one of the greatest tag teams ever The Steiner Brothers.

22. The Ultimate Warrior.

Perhaps the most intense superstar of the countdown, The Ultimate Warrior comes in at number 22.

Though most could not understand this bizarre superstar when he talked, people listened. If not for to only see what he was going to say next, but just for the pure adrenaline and intensity that he would emit during an interview or a promo.

The Ultimate Warrior is one of the biggest superstars produced by the WWE machine, becoming the first superstar to get a win over Hulk Hogan cleanly, and for the then WWF Heavyweight title nonetheless.

That would make him the first man ever to be the Intercontinental and WWF Heavyweight Champion at the same time.

And though he did cause a lot of problems for the WWE, (just watch The Self Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior) he helped the WWE make a lot of money and was one of the most popular if not the most popular superstar in the beginning of the 90's.

21. Edge

Edge is one of those superstars who just gets so into his character when he is a heel, that you just can't help but hate him.

It took a while for Edge to blossom into the Rated-R Superstar, he originally started out in the WWE as sort of a tortured soul type person, hanging out in alleyways coming in through the crowd, he definitely played on your sense of mystery.

Edge's mic skills really started to show when he and Christian started their whole reeking of awesomeness era and five second poses. Then Edge turned real life heel after having an affair with Matt Hardy's then real life girlfriend, Lita.

It was upon that, he became the Rated-R Superstar. And that is actually what pushed him over into the main event status. Edge would just do stuff that would get under your skin, and he is able to generate a lot of heat from the crowd.

Edge does okay on the mic as a face, but its as a heel that he just really comes through and shines. Just look at any heel interview or promo since becoming the Rated-R Superstar and you get the feeling that he is really that big of a dick in real life.

20. Dusty Rhodes

AMERRRICANNN DREAAAMMM! Once you heard those two words you knew that it could be only one person, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.

Billed as a common man, probably the only person that could be overweight and wear polka dots and be cheered.

He was just as good on the mic as he was in the ring. Rhodes was a great mic worker and just seemed to always have this fire that came out when he was speaking. His mic skills continued after his wrestling career as he went from wrestler to color commentator.

Rhodes was always comfortable on the mic which is necessary for any superstar wanting to move up the ranks. Rhodes then passed those skills down to his two sons Dustin Rhodes aka Goldust and Cody Rhodes.

19. Mick Foley

The Hardcore legend is mostly known for taking huge bumps, like being thrown off the top of the Hell in Cell to the floor or being chokeslammed through the top of the cell on a steel chair.

What some people overlook is his mic skills. He is one, if not the, only person that is able to manifest his mic skills into three personalities as you can see above.

I know I've said this before with Steiner but Mick Foley actually made you believe his characters, not so much Dude Love but Mankind and Cactus Jack.To be able to pull off making fans believe that you have split personalities takes someone special, not just any superstar could do it.

He's a best selling author and was the GM for a while. As Mankind he had some chilling promos in the boiler room and had one of the greatest feuds with The Undertaker.

Once Foley had established himself, every time he was on the mic he would get a huge pop from the crowd, could Foley be the anonymous GM today? I doubt it, but anything is possible with the WWE.

18. Owen Hart

The King of Harts, Owen Hart was one of the greatest technical wrestlers there is. Brother of Bret "The Hitman" Hart who we will see a little later on this list.

Owen Hart didn't really start dominating on the mic until he first turned on his brother Bret. Some of you may be too young to remember Owen, but those who grew up during the Attitude Era and before remember him well.

He had many transformations throughout his career, and the longer it went on the better he seemed to get on the mic, whoever he was having a feud with he had the ability to just suck you in to the story.

He started calling himself the King Of Harts after winning the the 1994 King Of The Ring. It wasn't til toward the end of his career that he really started to shine.

He had the ability that only certain superstars do to bring the fans into the action, they would always chant "Nugget," which I'm pretty sure the name came about because Shawn Michaels said he was like a little nugget of crap that stuck to the side of the toilet, and just wouldn't go down.

After Owen Hart accidentally broke Steve Austins neck, he went around wearing a shirt that said Owen 3:16 says I just broke your neck. He was just a great worker all around, and his Blue Blazer gimmick was hilarious.

Unfortunately as everyone knows that gimmick would lead to his death as during the PPV Over The Edge he would fall from the raptors as he was being lowered in, landing chest first on the top rope throwing him into the ring.

He would be rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, some believe he died in the ring.

17. Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle always has been a wonder on the mic, starting out with sort of the same type of gimmick Hogan did in the 80's telling people to drink their milk and follow the three I's, intensity, integrity, and intelligence.

He would always brag about being the only Olympic gold medalist in wrestling history, he made you believe that he was better than everybody else.

He was so good on the mic that toward the end of his stint in the WWE, whenever his music would hit and every time after a certain part and every time there after people would yell out "YOU SUCK" it pretty much became apart of his entrance music.

Even after leaving the WWE and going to TNA Kurt still is dominant on the mic, creating and leading the Main Event Mafia. Whether heel or face though, Kurt knows how to please, or get under the skin of the fans.

16. Jeff Jarrett

J-E-Double-F J-A-Double-R-E-Double T...Jeff Jarrett has always been a great mic worker no matter what company he has worked for.

Though he is much better as a heel than as a face. When Jarrett gets on the mic people just boo him like their getting paid for it. When you win a match and fans are so mad that they start throwing trash in the ring, then you know your doing something right.

No matter what gimmick Jarrett had portrayed, he adapted to it and made it work on the mic.

Even to this day in TNA Jarrett can still work the mic and just make people loath him, in my opinion though he needs to cut his hair and go back to the whole Slap nuts character.

15. Jesse "The Body" Ventura

Jesse "The Body" Ventura was always about entertainment. His look, his actions, the way he handled the mic. Like he was the greatest in the world and nobody could even stand up to his level, and he made you believe it too.

I was too young and not yet watching wrestling when he was around, but I looked up some old promos and interviews and he was just flawless, excuse my Laycool reference.

Also like many other great mic workers after, when Venture could no longer wrestle because of physical issues he went to color commentating with Vince McMahon. The two would later reform their broadcast team for one night only back a couple years back when "The Body" guest hosted Raw.

Ventura's skills on the mic helped him get elected Governor of Minnesota later down the line, as just like any person running for any type of office in politics you gotta be able to talk the talk. And this man could talk the talk and walk the walk.

One of the greater superstars of the ages and sure to be a WWE Hall Of Famer.

14. Scott Hall/Razor Ramon

Scott Hall may have a lot of problems, but one can't deny his skills in the ring and on the mic. Back when he first made his appearance as Razor Ramon in WWE and up until that point we had never seen anything like that before.

He had some of the greatest vignettes hyping his debut. We all know that his character was taken from the whole Scarface movie, Vince McMahon didn't know it at the time though, and thought Hall was a genius.

Back in the mid 90's Razor Ramon was lighting up everyone's TV screen, he had the look and the whole accent just intrigued people. He was able to have some great feuds with Shawn Michaels including the very first ladder match.

He was able to just leave an impact on people, he had a certain charisma and ability to adapt to that character. The stuff he would say would just stick with the fans. The Bad Guy, oozing with machismo, stuff like that was just gold.

Then coming to WCW and becoming Scott Hall, he branched out even more being apart of possibly the greatest wrestling stable ever, the nWo. Besides Hogan, Hall was the main speaker for the nWo.

"Hey Yo." Just two simple words, but people would cheer or say it along with Hall, and when he would take the survey, "Is everybody here to see WCW? Or did everyone come here to see the N W O? Of course everyone would then cheer for the nWo.

13.HHH

HHH, the king of kings. The Game, The Cerebral Assassin, he goes by many names, but what really stands out about HHH is his ability to work a crowd, the ability to have the fans cheer him even as a heel.

HHH is able to make it seem like he is the baddest man on the planet and that if you mess with him he's gonna hurt you, and hurt you bad.

He was okay on the mic when he first entered the WWE, but it wasn't until the creation of Degeneration X that he really started to stand out.

Him and Michaels would go back and forth cracking jokes and just doing and saying whatever they wanted. That was a good time for HHH to hone his microphone skills.

Then after Michaels got injured and HHH had to recreate DX which he then once again was getting on the mic more, getting better and better.

However it wasn't until he separated from DX and first adopted the moniker of The Game, that he really just stood out when he spoke. He would just look like he was always in game mode no pun intended. He made you think he was the best and then would go out into the ring and prove it.

His intensity and actions are what really helped him on the mic, and he just knows how to get the fans into what was going on at the moment. Whether it be a match he was just getting ready to go out and have, or if it was to help build up a feud, he was the type of person that made you want to tune in just to see what was going to happen next.

12. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

The Hot Rod, and they don't call him Rowdy for nothing. Some may say the greatest mic worker of all time, but that's definitely arguable.

I know that I've talked about superstars being energetic and putting everything they had into their mic work, well Roddy Piper takes that to a whole other level. The only other person that might have more energy than Piper on the mic is The Ultimate Warrior.

Roddy Piper just had a fire from within that would be unleashed whenever he would be on the mic, he is the first wrestler ever to have his own talk show, the infamous Piper's Pit.

Whenever Piper gets on the mic you know that business is about to pick up as JR would say.

I actually watched a promo where Piper took a full unopened bottle of beer and smashed it against his head. Whether it was really real or not I don't know but the blood that started flowing from his forehead was sure real. He then proceeded to go off about some wrestler.

Piper is the kind of guy to take things to the extreme, but that's the kind of thing people love,. He helped pave the way for every other superstar that's had a talk show, which is no surprise why he is on this list.

11. Bret "The Hitman" Hart

Bret Hart, the excellence of execution was one of the biggest stars to ever come out of the WWE. Quite possibly one of the best technical wrestlers to ever grace a WWE ring.

When Bret Hart was on the mic he didn't have to say anything people would just cheer. However when he did speak everyone was able to get behind him. As soon as he would walk through that curtain people would cheer like crazy.

That's because he was able to relate with the fans and was always connecting with them in and outside of the ring. Much like John Cena does today except everyone liked Bret Hart.

To be a really great mic worker you have to have a catchphrase or something that will stick in the memory of fans, and Bret Hart had it. The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. And the fans would just eat it up like sugar.

Also every time he would come down to the ring for a match he would always give away his classic pink sunglasses to a fan usually a young kid. Bret Hart could always entertain on the mic and that combined with his wrestling skills and fan popularity is what has him in the Hall Of Fame today.

10. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is possibly the greatest mic worker in the WWE today. He knows how to entertain and he also knows how to make the crowd loathe him.

He originally started out in Mexico, then went all around the world until finally getting a shot in ECW. After wrestling in ECW for a while Eric Bischoff offered him a chance to come over to WCW, which he gratefully accepted.

It wasn't until Jericho was able to turn heel that he finally started to shine on the mic, he had some great angles with Dean Malenko and Goldberg. Saying that he was the man of a thousand and four holds having three more than Malenko. With Goldberg he actually was so convincing that Goldberg got pissed at Jericho.

Eventually Jericho would make his way to the WWE where he would really start to shine. Words like ass clown and Jericholics and sayings like would you please shut the hell up and always putting that little twang on the word again come to mind when I think of Jericho.

Then he evolved once more and morphed into a more serious character dressing up in suits and talking real eloquent using big words that most people don't understand. Nick Bockwinkel is a big influence for Jericho's character today.

Jericho is currently on Dancing With The Stars but hopefully when he is done with that he will make his return and the WWE and Monday Night Raw will never eeeevvvveeerrrrr be the same AGAIN!

9. Rick Rude

If there was only one word to describe Rick Rude it would be "Ravishing." One of the top superstars of the 80's Rick Rude's body combined with his attitude was a must see.

Once again this superstar didn't have to even speak all he had to do was take off his robe and grind his hips like only Rick Rude can. With Bobby Henan as his manager Rick Rude could do no wrong.

He is the kind of guy people would just love to hate, and Rude would just feed off their boo's. One of his classic quotes was "Cut The Music!! What I'd like right now is for all the fat, sweaty, outta shape losers to pipe down while I take my robe off, and show the ladies what a real man looks like."

And he would do just that type of stuff in all his promo's, If it wasn't for Rick Rude we might never of had superstars like Val Venus, Shawn Michaels, Franchise Shane Douglas, or even Scott Steiner.

Rick Rude was an amazing wrestler and an amazing mic worker, To be able to influence such great superstars (Val Venus was great at one time) he will live on forever as one of the greatest.

8. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase

Three things comes to mind when I think of the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, his laugh, his belt, and his classic promos.

Anyone who was able to watch The Million Dollar Man in his prime would see a man who could hook line and sinker make you believe that he really was that wealthy.

Some of the promo's he would cut were pure gold...When he would give a fan a large sum of cash if they could just complete the simplest of task, but right before they would finish it, mess them up so he wouldn't have to pay them.

He once put up 500$ if this little kid could dribble a basketball 15 times in a row, when the kid got to 14, right before the 15th bounce DiBiase kicked the ball away so he wouldn't get to 15 and have to pay him.

One other time he paid a pool manager 400$ to shut down a public pool so he could have it all too himself. And when he had the Million Dollar Belt custom made for himself, people were just like whoa! No one had ever done anything like that before.

7. (Hollywood) Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is wrestling. Hulk Hogan paved the way for many superstars of today and people who don't even watch wrestling will be able to tell you who Hulk Hogan is.

During the 80's he was a "wrestling God" as JBL would say. Hulkamania was born after he beat The Iron Sheik for the WWF Heavyweight Title. From then on Hogan was cutting promos left and right, doing commercials, you name it.

He would tell fans to train, say their prayers, and eat their vitamins. That was the Hulkamania way. Hogan and the twenty-four inch pythons were running wild on the WWF at that time. Hogans mic skills body and charisma is what took him so far in the WWF.

Hogan was to the 80's what John Cena was a few years ago and kind of still is. He was doing commercials, TV shows. movies, you name it Hulk Hogan really knew how to work a mic and get people behind him.

Even in the ring Hogan would put on a show, by "hulking up" then he would always point the finger and everyone would say along with him "you!" before he hit um with the three punches followed by throwing him into the rope setting up for the big boot and then the infamous leg drop.

So watcha gonna do brother? Watcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on youuuu!

6. Macho Man Randy Savage

The Macho Man Randy Savage would entertain the crowds day in and day out. When he got on a microphone it was like a switch was turned on and he would just bring it as The Rock might say.

His mic skills were so good though, that they over shadowed his wrestling ability just a little bit, and he was a great ring worker.

Macho Man could hang with the best of um, and being able to be recognized on the same level as Hulk Hogan back when he was in his prime and ran wrestling pretty much is not an easy feat.

He and Hogan were actually tag team partners as part of one of the greatest tag teams in history, The Mega Powers. Rand Savage always had that unlimited energy, in fact some thought he had so much energy it was natural and that drugs were involved.

If you didn't know his voice from wrestling then there is a good chance you knew it from the Slim Jim commercials, always ending with the same classic line "snap into a Slim Jim oooohhhhh yeeeaaaa!

Correct me if I'm wrong but Savage was the only other person to be sponsoring items in commercials other than Hulk Hogan.

When being interviewed it seemed like Savage would be possessed almost by a being from a different planet because when he talked it wasn't normal, a classic example of this would be an interview he had with Mean Gene Oakerland.

MG had asked Savage why when he stood there and talked to him that he thought of old Sunny and Cher hits and Savage replied with this.

"Unbelievable, time distortion, space is the place Mean Gene Oakerland go down that lonesome highway yeah! But don't be hypnotized, reincarnation does not have to be, you can concentrate, and you can ah mental telepathy.

Um huh? That's the kind of stuff The Macho Man would bring but it made him original and people were always wondering what will he say next, and that's what puts asses in seats.

5. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Steve Austin originally made his debut in the WWE as The Ring Master, a protege of The Million Dollar Man. He wasn't able to really speak much then except for a few words here and there.

It wasn't until the 1996 King Of The Ring that Stone Cold Steve Austin was born. From then on Stone Cold would shoot to the top of the WWE like a rocket. When Austin was on the mic you knew that hell was about to be raised.

He like many other great mic workers got the crowd involved. from "Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass", to "give me a hell yea" he was one of, if not thee very first heel to get cheered by the fans.

Austin was just pure entertainment, he said he was the toughest sob in the WWE, and every night he would go out there and prove it. Whether it be stunning Vince McMahon, driving a beer truck to the ring, or just stunning the crap out of everyone in site, Austin was pure entertainment.

4 Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels, The Heartbreak Kid, The Showstopper, The Main Event. I could go on.

Shawn Michaels is perhaps the greatest superstar ever, according to the WWE he is. But once again like many other superstars on this list, he wasn't even a stand out wrestler until the infamous moment on The Barber Shop when he superkicked Marty Jennetty and threw him through the window.

Michaels had charisma like The Million Dollar Man had cash, from the point his whole sexy boy gimmick began he would just be great on the mic. He knew how to entertain, he knew how to make you love him or make you hate him.

When he created DX though, is when he really began to just dominate the mic. It was like he was given a pass to say whatever and do whatever he wanted.No one was safe, the wrestlers, their families, Vince McMahon, the announcers, it didn't matter.

One moment in particular comes to mind, when Michaels faced the British Bulldog in a match for the European championship in his hometown of Manchester England. It was right at the end of the match after Michaels had beat him for the title.

HBK got on the mic and was just making a mockery of England, The British Bulldog, and his whole family. He got the crowd so pissed that they were throwing trash in the ring like it was a garbage can.

The Montreal Screw job, and cutting a promo against Bret Hart alleging he had sexual relations with Sunny were also a couple of moments where HBK's controversy came into play.

Another incident when he was a fan favorite was when he was coming down the aisle to the ring the fans were so excited that the metal guard rail that they had at the time fell over because they were all trying to get to him.

So whether he was being loved or hated there is no question that Shawn Michaels could make you do one or the other more than anyone else.

3. Mr. Perfect

A man who was well...Perfect. Mr. Perfect was one of the greatest characters ever to spawn out of the WWF and Curt Hennig made him look just that.

This is a guy who could do anything and do it perfect, he had some of the greatest vignettes ever in the history of the WWE. He could dive, he could bowl, he could shoot pool, he could do it all Mr. Perfect was a true legend.

The whole thing he did with his towel, his pencil, and his gum, that is all gold, he literally made you believe he was indeed perfect.

Its hard for me to put into words just how dynamic Mr. Perfect was, and having Bobby Heenan by his side just upped his credibility

Whether it be wrestling, working the mic, or even announcing which he did for a little while, he was indeed Perfect

2. The Rock

I know this is more than likely going to cause controversy The Rock not being number one and all, but that's okay.

When The Rock first entered the WWE I don't think anybody thought that he would grow to be as big as he is today. It wasn't until he joined up with the Nation of Domination that people really started to take notice of him.

The Rock would raise the eyebrow, he would talk trash better than anybody in the WWE at the time. You could give The Rock a broom stick and tell him to cut a promo about it and he would make it interesting.

Even his in ring moves were dynamic, The Peoples Elbow, the three punches where on the last one he would spit in his hand and usually knock his opponent out of the ring, all that was unprecedented.

Even during a match he would sometimes put on an announcers headset and talk trash to his opponent. I could write an entire article about his mic skills alone.

When you think of the greatest of all time whether it be wrestling or mic skills, people always think of The Rock.

1. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

WHOOOOOOOOO! Ric Flair, the 16-time world heavyweight champion is by far the greatest mic worker to ever grace a wrestling ring.

Everyone has taken a little bit of something from The Nature Boy even The Rock. When he says the Jobroni beating, pie eating, then whatever he's involved in at the moment, was taken from Ric Flair when he would always say he was the Limousine riding. jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling dealing son of a gun.

Flair brings so much intensity when he is on the mic that I sometimes think he is going to have a heart attack he is so intense.

To be the man you got to beat the man, and Flair was thee man. Even now at sixty two years old Flair is still lighting up the mic. He is also part of one of the greatest stables to ever grace wrestling The Four Horseman.

Ric Flair calls himself the dirtiest player in the game and he will prove it to ya. He plays a heel better than anyone I think. He just brings such a passion such an intensity to the mic and even in the ring he still brings that style and finesse.

When he is getting really beat up in the corner he will come out and start throwing punches like he isn't hurt and wants his opponent to keep bringing it then he just flops down on the ground, or when he always tries to go up to the top rope then always gets thrown off.

I think he has gone for that move over hundreds of times and possibly only hit it like twice. A man that's able to refer himself as "God" of wrestling and get away with it you know has to be above and beyond all the rest.

From his trademark whoooooo to his flashy robes, Ric Flair is by far the greatest mic worker in wrestling history.